One of the things that is often forgotten when talking about the Treaty of Rome, the keystone of the European Union, is what comes after the phrase “determined to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe”.

That phrase is in itself an important statement about what the EU stands for.

But it is not, as it is often corrupted to be by both Europhiles and Eurosceptics, talking about an ever closer union of the nations in the EU, it quite explicitly refers to the peoples of Europe and not the nations.

Nor is it an overriding principle. You have to take into account what is said next in the Treaty:

“affirming as the essential objective of their efforts the constant improvements of the living and working conditions of their peoples,”

Our political leaders/representatives need to bear in mind the word “essential”, in case they have forgotten, as some of them seem to have done, that word means extremely important, absolutely necessary.

What the EU needs to be doing at the moment are those things that are “extremely important, absolutely necessary” for the peoples of the EU.

If that causes some pain and difficulty for the leaders and governments of the EU they will have to deal with it,

It is “the peoples of Europe” that the EU was founded for, the leaders and governments need to remember that and step up to the challenge.